MIKEL ARTETA has been warned he needs to “take the handbrake off” if he is to lift major silverware at Arsenal.
But on a cold Wednesday night in Stoke, his much-changed Gunners were barely out of third gear as strikes from Eberechi Eze and Leandro Trossard downed Port Vale for a Carabao Cup fourth-round spot.
The elation of Gabriel Martinelli’s 93rd-minute equaliser to draw 1-1 with Manchester City last weekend was quickly wiped out by the narrative that Arteta is just too cautious, reluctant to stray from his safety-first mindset and tactical set-up.
On last night’s showing, with just four shots on target, that narrative will still be lurking around as they travel to Newcastle in the Prem on Sunday.
Arteta has hit back at his critics by claiming he has one of the most talented, attack-minded squads in the country, making NINE changes for the trip to Vale Park.
Yet this was not as convincing as it could and should have been, with Vale’s net rippling in the eighth minute by Eze – his first goal in Arsenal colours – before a 78-minute wait for the next one from Trossard.
But no doubt, amid all the noise, Arteta will take plenty of positivity back to North London.
Yes, this was only Port Vale – sitting 19th in League One with just two wins from their opening nine games under Darren Moore, who had clearly watched City’s low-block approach on Sunday and tried to frustrate in a similar way with varying success.
And yes, a few Gunners fans will still grumble that they had to watch midfielder Mikel Merino lead the line once more with Viktor Gyokeres an onlooker on the bench for the majority.
But Arteta was able to give a bus-load of senior stars some much-needed rest, escaping Staffordshire without any fresh injuries.
Kepa Arrizabalaga and Christian Norgaard made their full debuts since joining in the summer, teenagers Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly made their first starts of the campaign while a now fully-fit Bukayo Saka started for the first time in nearly a month before making way for another cameo from 15-year-old Max Dowman.
Yet another example of just how many elite options Arteta now has in his squad, and that’s still not including injured trio Martin Odegaard, Piero Hincapie and Kai Havertz, left watching this one from London, making a mockery of the phrases ‘second string’ or ‘B team’.
At around £1.14bn, Arsenal have one of the most valuable squads on the planet. In comparison, the Valiants’ squad worth is around the £8.8m mark. Ludicrous really.
Their record signing remains £500k spent on Gareth Ainsworth in 1997. Saka pockets that much – and probably more – in wages in just a couple of weeks.
Not that any of that depressing, soulless, financial drivel had any impact on a stunning atmosphere at Vale Park, which was oozing in cup fever and dreams of a famous upset.
On the club’s 150th anniversary, close to a sell-out attendance of 16,326 was the biggest since they hosted Liverpool in the FA Cup way back in 1999.
And the last time they welcomed Arsenal here was in an FA Cup third-round replay in 1998, which went to penalties after a 1-1 draw that saw Arsene Wenger play an incredibly strong side that included Ian Wright, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira and Marc Overmars.
Wenger’s boys snuck through from 12 yards, going on to win the double that year. Arteta will hope that returning to Vale Park is a good omen, desperate to add to the lone FA Cup he lifted during his first term in charge in 2020.
The Spaniard is currently in no position to turn his nose up at the Carabao Cup with a fourth-round tie to look forward to.
But unlike 37 years ago, this one was never in danger of going the distance to penalties.
Surviving a few frenzied minutes from the hosts, backed by their raucous support, Arsenal cruised into a swaggering rhythm, controlling the game like a collection of puppeteers.
Martinelli – fresh from being a goal-scoring ‘finisher’ in his last two games – had earned his start and was a nuisance down the left, feeding Lewis-Skelly in the box, whose attempted flick did enough to deceive the defence and Eze slotted into the corner.
Arsenal spent the rest of the half in cruise control, like a routine training session. Merino wasted a few half-chances in the box and Eze had another effort saved by Joe Gauci.
The odd set-piece or long throw kept them on their toes, but Arsenal waltzed into the second half. Nwaneri clipped a ball for Martinelli over the top but the Brazilian was beaten to it by a brilliant sliding tackle from Gauci.
Arteta would have preferred a more comfortable end to the game, throwing on Gabriel and Gyokeres just to make sure, the latter coming close before Trossard found the bottom corner in the 86th minute.
Now to St James’ Park, where Arteta’s handbrake will have a much sterner examination.
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